29-30 January ~ A Knock Out

OK- well, I missed two days, but I promise I have a good excuse.  While trying to get my house in order for visitors, I was trying to jump up on the countertop in my kitchen and hit my head on the stove hood.  So hard that I knocked myself completely out.  Due to a minor concussion...I've tried to take it easy the last two days.  My hubby has decided that cleaning is much too dangerous for me to tackle...I completely agree!! (=

28 January ~ Precious in Purple

27 January ~ Home Sweet Home

Today was a big day at our house!  After church this morning (that's Sailer in the teal and brown), the whole clan headed over to look at some houses for Sailer's nana and papa.  After much search and prayer, they bought one!!  It's beautiful and on a huge lot for Sailer to run and play.  I'm so beyond excited for them.  So excited it has Mark and I itching to move again...who knows what'll happen!

I just included this picture of Sailer playing because it sums up about 2 hours of our day.  These blocks were Santa's best buy.  It's in and out and in and out.  It seems pretty boring to me, but to her, it apparently is a very fun game.  

26 January ~ Squeaking Along

Sailer is absolutely everywhere! She's just started crawling this past month, but apparently that is not getting her where she wants to go fast enough. These cute little red butterfly shoes squeak with every step...which is quite an incentive to keep walking.  Man, she's getting to big! Oh, and Sailer is 10 MONTHS OLD today!

Tonight was girls' night out for the mama!  Some other mamas and I took off for my old school stomping grounds.  We headed out to the stockyards to size up this year's cowboys and dance in the real honkey tonks.  It was such a good time, but it made me realize how good I have it at home.  Very lucky girl.

25 January ~ King of Her Heart

This has always been one of my favorite pictures of Mark and Sailer.  She was about 2 months old, and the photo just encapsulated her at that moment. A little princess who could nap in a tutu with the king of her heart holding tightly. So precious. So perfect.  So pure. I thought it would be fun to take a capshot of the making of a princess from start to finish...

24 January ~ Trial and Error

Today was a rough one (I don't know who it was worse for...me or Sailer). There's always a learning curve when mastering a new skill.  As Sailer gets more adventurous and more stable, she tries to push the envelope.  Today she fell and hit her head.  It took only a split second, but oh, my heart hurt all day!  I know it's just part of it, but no mommy wants to see their baby hurt.  Obviously from the picture she recovered pretty much instantly.  But as you can see, the fall left a sad mark.

Sailer's Nana drove in today, and of course, her first order of business is to get in some play time with Sailer.  They played with the bouncing ball.... Sailer could catch it and throw it back.  Good lord, I hope that doesn't mean she's going to want to play softball one day.

23 January ~ It's All in the Fluff

I just love these fun fluffy socks.  And so does Sailer.  She just sits and feels them every time I put them on her!  I wish they came in my size.  I don't know if everyone loves to dress up their little baby dolls as much as I do, but I just can't stop!  Today, Sailer and I shopped all day for her spring closet, and got so many cute things.  Yikes for the daddy. (= And I can't wait for it to get warm enough for her to wear them!  Be gone cold days...

22 January ~ Surprise Visitors

Look at this cutie pie! I love surprise visitors...especially those as sweet as this.  And especially one that is so smart already.  (=  This is a quick pic of little Bree Bost who is getting so big! 

21 January ~ Cowgirl Up

Today, three cowgirls went to the Stockshow!  It's a time honored tradition for all Fort Worth kids....and ever so for me.  I grew up going to see the animals with my sweet grandpa, Pom.  I have vivid memories from when I was young, standing and watching the baby chicks go round and round the mini ferris wheel.  Well, the tides have turned, and it's now a new grandparent in line with a new grandchild to wow with the barnyard animals.  Sailer had such a great time...to my surprise, her favorite was the big cow! Her only fit was at the petting zoo, when she wanted to eat the feed instead of sharing it with the animals.  It was hilarious!  I guess they do resemble her snacks.

Today, Sailer and I had a brief 10 seconds of fame.  Not my most eloquent moment. http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=207561

  

19/20 January

Well, I've been sick all weekend.  And let me just tell you that it is SO not fun to chase after a toddler when your head wants to explode!  The weekend wasn't a complete loss though...I created a few LOs from bed.  Pathetic, I know!

I found this the other day and just felt so inspired in its meaning:

"If I could give you fairy wings I would, so that you 

could fly to heights you wish to reach, 

If I could shower you with fairy dust I would, so that your every wish would become reality,

If I could bestow upon you a fairy charm I would,

so that your life would always be filled with beauty and truth,

Sailer if I could...only if I could." 

I pray my angel always has the courage to spread her wings.

18 January ~ Little Miss Piggie

I just love this little outfit- it's handpainted and so girly!  And it's easy to crawl around in, 

which is essential these days.  

The second picture sums up my little monster...she LOVES to do her Miss. Piggie impersonation.  Probably because she gets a room full of laughter after each snort.  Caught her in action as she was practicing in the mirror.

16 January ~ Waiting For You

Well, I got a few layouts done today...yippee.  This one highlights the final days waiting for our little princess to make her entrance into this world.  It was one of the my favorite of the maternity pictures my hubby and I had taken.  37 weeks and about to pop!

15 January ~ Tea For Two

Today Sailer and I had a tea party for two with her silver tea set.  A gift sweetly given to her by her sweet friends in Arkansas.  We did a lot more banging than drinking, but I took lots of fun photos anyway.  This is a LO I finished with one of the pics of her playing tea.

14 January ~ Here's the Buzz

This bee goes everywhere!!  It was a random pick up one night at Blockbuster (her dad and grandpa are total suckers).  Thank goodness...she lights up anytime she sees him!

So much so, I think she just might turn into one...

13 January ~ Simply Beautiful

Isn't she beautiful?  I just love this picture!  For Christmas, we got a new SLR and mommy is having so much learning how to use it!!  It takes the most incredible photos, and the various lenses actually do make a difference.  Who would've thunk it?  

I know I'm totally behind because I'm just now climbing the learning curve on Photoshop CS3...does anyone else think this is incredibly hard to master??  

Anyway, I played around with this picture in it and think it turned out pretty good.   The layout below was inspired by my favorite SB designer, Iris!

11 January ~ No bones about it

Ok- anyone who knows me well knows that one of my greatest loves is to watch a tv series from start to finish while doing my various projects.  There's something about the immediate gratification of knowing what comes next and having sound/entertainment in the background while you're working.  So today I started watching Bones and am loving it!  The two main characters have this quirky but brilliant spark between them.  Sailer played with her new table forever, so we got through quite a few episodes and I completed a few layouts.  What a great day!

10 January ~ Brilliant Biscuits

I hope everyone who's ever had a teething baby has discovered the brilliance of teething biscuits!  Their tar-like aftermath is far worth the price of a content little one.

9 January ~ Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Mirror mirror on the wall....in decorating Sailer's room, there was one thing that was essential and so precious to me.  A baby vanity that was used by three generations of women in my family. My mom looked at herself in that mirror,  I looked at myself in that mirror, and now my angel looks at herself in that mirror.  I never knew how much she would love it, but it's one of her favorite toys in the world.  She just stands in front of it and talks.  There are few cuter things that I've seen.

8 January ~ Two Teeth and Counting

During Sailer and I's daily photo shoot, I finally captured her 2 teeth! I still can't believe she's old enough to have them.  They get a lot of use these days- she chews on pretty much EVERYTHING, including her puppy, Camo's, food.  Niiiice.

7 January ~ Daddy's Girl

Well, Sailer is finally starting to show signs of becoming a daddy's girl.  Up until this point, she's been pretty much all about her mommy....let's hope she doesn't keep up this trend of wanting to dress like him too.

6 January ~ Barbie World

I'm starting to attempt the Christmas decoration tear down....uggh.  Does anyone else think their houses look so much more depressing without the Christmas cheer?  I'm really having a hard time taking down the decorations in Sailer's room.  She had the coolest tree ever!  It was a 9 foot pink tree filled with authentic Barbie ornaments that have been collected for over 3 decades.  I doubt many little girls got to go to sleep staring at that kind of holiday dreamworld each night.

5 January ~ Winter Wonderland

Today we had to leave our snowy dreamland and return home.  A part of me is ready, yet another will miss the getaway.  The slideshow is just a glipmse of the fun we had on our trip.

4 January ~ Sledding Bunny

Back to the slopes...and ladies and gentlemen, the little black dot on the photo is me heading down a black diamond!  Yes, the scared little skiier from just a few days ago.  Man, it was a cold day!  It was snowing so hard and the wind as we went up the ski lift was like nothing I want to experience again anytime soon.  But the trek back down the mountain was a day I'd like to remember forever.

Today was a big day for Sailer as well!  Her fist time hitting the snow...in a sled.  She enjoyed it for awhile, but like all of us, the cold always wins in the end.  So we headed back inside for hot chocolate.

I'd like to remember forever.

3 January ~ Snowmobiling

Today, we snowmobiled through the snow-capped mountains.  It was an exhilarating ride.  The faster, the better, I say.

Later that night, we had reservations at Top of the World.  A restaurant literally tucked into the side of a mountain.

2 January ~ Snow Baby

Today, M and I headed for the slopes!  I hadn't skiied since law school, and I was about to head up the mountain with my fearless husband.  What the heck was I thinking...well, I tell you....get me off this lift now!  Instead, I decided on a motto for the day.  "Fake it until you make it."  I had two good spills, but I kept up and wasn't embarrassing.  And it ended up being a great day! 

 

When we arrived back to the condo, guess what we found?!?!  A crawling baby!!!!  Two, maybe three steps, and then, she looked so stinking cute, you just had to grab her and pick her up!  Sigh... she's growing up so fast!  This picture captured her staring outside at the beautiful landscape, having a snack of snowflakes.

Happy New Year's!

Our 2008 came in with much flair.  We awoke in Kansas City to try and catch a super early flight to take us to the surly negative 20 land of Breckenridge.  Sailer, who is no stranger to planes, had a horrible time....as did her fellow flight neighbors.  This was due in large part to two of the cutest little teeth you've ever seen making their long awaited entrance.  Ouch is all I can say.  We landed in Colorado clad in our warmest, only to find brilliant Delta (not a fan) had lost our carseat!  Oh, don't worry they said they had a Plan B.  Their Plan B loaner seat was far from Mama's standard of ok-ness.  I am usually VERY understanding of customer service workers and rarely if ever complain.  My husband still can't believe the fit I threw in Delta's main office.  All I can say is, I'm sure other mothers out there will attest to the feeling of "you don't mess with my baby."  Luckily, our rockstar driver found a suitable carseat for us, and we finally arrived at the beautiful winter wonderland.  

My sweet hubby, Mark, and I went on a date night to celebrate the New Year at a fabulous little chic/romantic restaurant called Relish.  Definitely want to return!  Though the trip was a little bit of a challenge, sitting across from my husband just laughing and relaxing while watching the snow fall outside our table window, made it all worth it.

First Things First

Well, I've resisted joining the blogging crowd for some time now, but my friends in the crazy scrapbook world have finally made me see the light.  I decided to attempt Anna Bowkis' 365 day challenge (albeit 21 days late) for 2008 and leave postcards journaling my many adventures over the next year (and likely a lot of my baby princess) each day.  I've always known this life was finite, but I've never understood just how quickly the days slide by if you let them.  This past year was the greatest of my life, and I simply cannot believe it's already ended.  I have much faith that the coming months will hold just as many awe-inspiring moments for me, so I'll just let this little sketchpad give you a glimpse of them along the way.  Let's discover together.  And try to remember to sit back sometimes and just enjoy the ride!

I'll highlight some of the days from beginning of the year until now that I have photos for, and just start the challenge from today on.

xo, tara